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Chapter 685: Background (I)

Sun Zelan is twenty-one years old this year, which is a standard old maid according to today's standards.

She didn't like fancy clothes and ornaments. When she was a military doctor in the barracks, she wore simple and casual clothes. Now she is a female imperial physician in the palace and wears the official uniform of the imperial physician. After the loose official uniform was altered, it fits her body very well.

It was as if she was born to be so calm and confident. Her clear eyes sparkled with confidence.

In terms of appearance, Sun Zelan was not a top beauty, but a pretty lady. But in Qin Hu's eyes, she had a unique brilliance that was more dazzling than all the treasures in the world.

In the past, we only saw each other three or five times a year.

Now that Sun Zelan has come to the palace to work, he can see her almost every day.

Qin Hu was already satisfied. He suppressed the heat and excitement in his heart and maintained a proper distance: "Miss Sun, you are too polite."

Qin Hu's persistence was already a thing of the past. In recent years, Sun Zelan had become more tactful towards him than before. She smiled at him before turning away.

Qin Hu watched Sun Zelan's figure go away, silently withdrew his gaze, and then met the teasing eyes of his good brother Meng Sanbao.

When serving in the emperor's presence, one must be solemn and quiet, and not laugh and joke at will.

Qin Hu just rolled his eyes.

Meng Sanbao rolled his eyes even more.

After so many years, I still miss Miss Sun. Why are you pretending? Just keep pestering her! There will always be a time to impress the beauty. What is this now? If I keep waiting like this, how long will I wait?

Unfortunately, such words could not be said. Every time he mentioned it in private, Qin Hu would turn his face away and ignore him.

After dark, the imperial guards changed shifts, and Qin Hu and Meng Sanbao finished their shifts together, went to the canteen to eat, and then returned to the dormitory together.

The imperial guards in the palace slept in the same room. It was natural for them to choose the same room. No matter how they fought or quarreled, they were still good brothers with a strong friendship.

"Do you understand the principle that the one who is close to the water gets the moon first?" The two beds were more than three feet apart. Meng Sanbao stretched out his long legs and kicked Qin Hu: "Now that Miss Sun has entered the palace to be a royal physician, you can see each other every day. You should be more attentive."

Qin Hu responded: "You don't understand."

Meng Sanbao rolled his eyes and said, "I don't understand what you're thinking. If you can let it go, then don't worry about it at all and find another good girl to marry. You obviously can't let it go, so why are you pretending?"

Qin Hu still said the same thing; "You don't understand."

Meng Sanbao was so angry that he kicked him again: "Kick you, the great lover, away!"

Qin Hu didn't bother to argue with him. He turned over and avoided him, raising the corner of his mouth in the darkness.

If you like someone, you must respect her ideals and ambitions. She wants to be the best female doctor in Daliang alone, and he just silently guards her, which is enough.

……

A few days later, Liu Hengchang and others escorted the food and military expenses out of the capital. The armies in the capital were close to each other, so they could send people to the Ministry of War to collect food and military expenses. When the treasury of the Daliang Dynasty was the most empty, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War did not dare to reduce the military expenses of the Imperial Guards' Shenwu Camp, Yongwei Camp, and Yingwei Camp.

However, this time, in addition to sufficient military funds, food and fodder were also distributed in abundance. The standard of food in the barracks was immediately improved.

General Bao, General Zuo and other main generals also knew this well, and when distributing military funds, they would specifically announce that Her Majesty the Empress cares about the soldiers' food and clothing, and wants to ensure that all soldiers are well fed, well clothed and get adequate pay. These were all special instructions from Her Majesty the Empress.

Wearing brand new military uniform, shoes and socks, with a piece of fat meat on top of brown rice, and drinking hot broth, who could not appreciate the kindness of the new emperor?
Even the soldiers who lost their lives in the coup received generous compensation. The uneasy mood in the military camp quickly calmed down.

General Zuo went to the Wang family privately to visit Prime Minister Wang.

Prime Minister Wang leaned back against a soft pillow and sighed self-deprecatingly, "I am now just carrying the empty title of Prime Minister. I cannot attend court, nor can I handle government affairs. Only a few of you are willing to come and see me from time to time."

The "you" mentioned by Prime Minister Wang are General Zuo, Minister Dai and Minister Zhou. Minister Zhang, for example, rarely comes and has gradually separated from the original Prime Minister's party and formed his own party.

General Zuo whispered, "A journey of a thousand miles tells a horse's strength, and a long time tells a person's true character. Some people were never meant to be friends, and now that we've seen their true colors, it's better to distance ourselves from them as soon as possible."

Prime Minister Wang glanced at General Zuo and said, "Even if it's you, come less often in the future. Otherwise, the emperor will be unhappy."

General Zuo said, "I was supported by the Prime Minister and have come this far. The Prime Minister has been very kind to me. I will always obey the Prime Minister's orders."

General Zuo used to say such words to show his loyalty. At that time, Prime Minister Wang was very powerful and was used to hearing such words, so he didn't take them too seriously. Now he only has the title of Prime Minister, and his influence on the court has been greatly reduced. How can he not sigh with emotion when hearing such words again?

"Don't say such nonsense again." Prime Minister Wang said sternly, "You are a general of Daliang. You must be loyal to the emperor and obey his orders."

General Zuo nodded: "I will listen to the Prime Minister."

Prime Minister Wang laughed in silence, his expression softened a lot: "I heard that the military pay has been distributed. Has it really been distributed in full?"

It was an unspoken convention that civil officials took bribes and military officers drank the blood of soldiers to collect empty salaries. As long as the army was maintained at a certain level of combat effectiveness, it was not wrong to take about 20% to 30% of the empty salaries.

When General Zuo was in charge of the frontier army, he ate 30% of the salary without any money. One tenth was given to the Prime Minister's Mansion as a tribute, another tenth was given to his generals, and the remaining tenth was from the Zuo family.

When Prime Minister Wang asked about this, he did not mean to ask for a tribute. The Wang family was rich enough to rival a country, so this little bit was not enough. He mainly wanted to inquire about the specific situation in the army.

General Zuo sighed, "The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War each calculated the military expenses for the 30,000 soldiers of the Yingwei Camp and allocated them to the army. When the military pay was distributed, the emperor sent a team of imperial guards, led by Qin Hu."

"As a result, we had no choice but to pay the soldiers in full. We had to take out the military roster and call out the names of the soldiers one by one. It took three days to pay out all the military pay."

"In fact, the numbers on the military register are somewhat different from those on the Ministry of War. There is about a 20% vacant quota."

"I don't know how much Qin Hu saw. After paying the soldiers, he said nothing and went back to the palace to report."

So, General Zuo was feeling uneasy and came to see Prime Minister Wang specifically to ask for his advice.

Prime Minister Wang thought for a moment and said, "You should keep your troops in place for now. If the emperor asks about the empty vacancies in the military roster, you can say that you have only been in charge of the army for a short time and don't know the reason."

"The emperor has just ascended the throne and wants to get a feel for the army. He may not be targeting the British Guards. Don't panic."